Activity

Activity

Hey guys, so I don't have that much time, which is why I'm trying to keep things short.

Spoiler warning for episode 8 of Volume 4.

I watched the episode, and besides a lot of unnecessary information and nice character moments there was also some stuff that sparked my interest (and probably that of others). Namely the story about the 2 gods and the relics are one of the main points of the episode.

We know the gods gave humanity 4 major gifts (if you want to call them that) that are not only a representation of what humanity can do, but somehow seem to have a physical form: Creation, Destruction, Knowledge, Choice.

I have reason to believe Salem has one Relic already in her hands. And it might be either the Relic of Creation, or the Relic of Destruction. Now the reason I believe that is because I think she is making new forms of Grim. There is ample evidence (in dialogue of the show and in the WoR) that in "recent years", stronger and more horrific forms of Grim have been appearing (WoR in Volume 2 about "Grim", as well as various episodes of the show including Volume 4 Chapter 3 where the captain of the ship Blake is on mentions they have never seen a Grim this big, as well as Volume 3 Chapter 6 where Qrow iterates that "the Grim are growing stronger, more prevalent (=widespread)".

The Relic of Creation would make sense if it would enable you to create all things, which would enable you to create Grim. But as we have seen in the story the younger brother (the dark one) created Grim and he was all about Destruction. We also know that the older brother created LIFE. If we assume the Relics of Destruction and Creation are associated with the younger and older brother respectively we can assume it is the Relic of Destruction that enables one to create Grim or all kinds of non-living, anti-light / anti-aura, soulless creatures. Creatures of Destruction. And since she (Salem) seems to be creating new forms of Grim and to some extend controlling them it makes sense she possesses the Relic of Destruction.

The question is, does she have another one? One could for example argue controlling the Grim might mean she has the Relic of choice and can use it to control Grim (take their choice away). But on the other hand the more logical reasoning is that it controls humans and takes THEIR choice away (or limits it somehow) (Apple of Eden from Assassins Creed anyone?) and would she have it I would assume more individuals would be "under her control". So I assume she does not.

That's pretty much my theory. What do you guys think? Anything to add or correct? Let me know.

PS: Also calling bullshit on Qrows "Semblance". IF they actually want to go
through with that it is just an excuse that opens up room for lazy
writing and plot-holes. "Bad luck" is just a way of saying "we needed a
reason for something to happen but didn't know how so we invented this
in case we can't explain something rationally in the future".﻿

So, I was thinking a lot about Ruby lately, thanks to the new stuff that came up in ch. 12 (finally some character and power development for Ruby! Yay! She might even have her own story arc now (with the whole "silver eyes" and dormant powers thing).

And I was thinking a little bit about the parental generation. Taiyang, Raven, Summer, Qrow, etc.

Now Qrow has been spending an enormous amount of screen-time taking care of Ruby and little to no situation in which he was doing the same to Yang (yes, there was that one "firecracker" conversation). And in general Qrow seems a little closer to Ruby than he is to Yang.

I know that is probably a total out-of-left-field crackpot theory, but what is Qrow is Rubys real father? Before you bail now and roll out your counter-arguments, hear me out, will ya? Because I have more.

Here is what I think is a POSSIBILITY:

Raven and Taiyang were lovers (obviously). She got Yang and at some point she left (for whatever reason that we probably get to know somewhere down the line). But Summer and Taiyang were NEVER lovers. "But why did she take care of Ruby and Yang then?" you might ask. What if...... Summer was Taiyangs sister or half-sister? Yang is born, Raven leaves shortly after, Summer helps Tai to raise Yang. But Summer and Qrow have a thing. Summer gets pregnant and Ruby is born. Qrow, working for Ozpin, is certainly not PERFECT father material, and his job is dangerous. But he does it to protect the people he cares about at home, and he is the best man for this job. So he plays the "uncle" letting Summer and Tai take care of Ruby (and Yang), and whenever he is at home and has time he spends it with Ruby (and Yang).

Why did they lie to Ruby about it? Well, maybe because it would make things way too complicated for her and all people involved if they told her the truth. That way Ruby grew up together with Yang (in this case not her half-sister but her cousin) in a relatively stable environment, protected by Tai and Summer (the former being a teacher at Signal like Qrow and the latter going around the Kingdom doing missions). It would explain SOME things. Like why Qrow is a little bit closer to Ruby than he is to Yang, maybe even why Qrow drinks so much (Raven is not dead, but Summer (not blood-related to Qrow) is. Also, I always found it strange that (at least seemingly) Taiyang let Ruby be lead by Qrow so much, lets her train under him, etc and even went out of the room when Qrow wanted to talk to Ruby alone in Ch. 12. And Qrow and Taiyang seem to be on slightly unstable footing with each other, at least on Taiyang's side of things. He seems to tolerate Qrow for some reason but he also seems not okay with how Qrow handles things or what he does. For some reason though he still allows Qrow having so much influence over Ruby.

Tell me what you think about it. Maybe I'm just mad and this is too crazy to be really the case. I just thought it might be a possibility.

Now we all knew that bad things were gonna happen, even at the start of the volume considering the Intro song and all, and when Ch. 6 was out we all knew things were gonna get real.

So I'm gonna tell you a little bit about how I came to make this thread here. I was rewatching episodes after having seen CH. 12. And wanting to enjoy the intro song a few last times I kind of tried to just focus on in an soak it all in, swell in memories a little bit, really pay attention. And that is when I saw it.

People, we should have seen it coming SO LONG AGO. I'm gonna post the images of what I mean here (if I can find out how to post images....):

So guys (and girls), I have been having some time on my hands lately and the latest episodes of RWBY really keep dangling around in my mind. I already made a thread about the inspriation for Rubys character and the interpretation of the "Little Red Riding Hood" story and it's variations, as well as another thread talking about Neo and her connection to silver eyes. Now when looking for interesting and nice RWBY AMVs I stumbled upon the full version of "Time to Say Goodbye" with lyrics and was pretty surprised at the actual text (which I never cared to look up before).

They go as follows:

Theres a point where it tips theres a point where it breakstheres a point where it bends and a point we just can't takeanymore

Theres a line that we'll cross and there's no returntheres a time and a place no bridges left to burnanymore

We can't just wait with lives at stakeuntil they think we're readyour enemies are gathering the storm is growing deadly

[Refrain]Now its time to say goodbyeto the things we lovedand the innocence of youthhow the time seemed to flyfrom our carefree livesand the solitude and peace we always knew

[/Refrain]

Theres a day when we'll fight and we're not gonna fall theres a day when we'll stand and a day when we won't crawl anymore

There's a moment in time and there's no going backwhen we're pushed too hard and we won't hold our attackanymore

We can't just cling to childish thingsas evil just grows closerhumanity's in jeopardy this fight is far from over

Now its time to say goodbyeto the things we lovedand the innocence of youthwith a doubt in our mindswhy we chose this lifeand at times we can't help wondering...

Were we born to fight and die? sacrificed for one huge lie?are we heroes keeping peace?or are we weapons? pointed at the enemy so someone else can claim a victory?

[Refrain]

Now a lot of this text is pretty clear and all. We have the general theme of growing up, parting with things we loved, loosing the innocence and naivety of youth, overcoming doubt and wondering about your own motives for becoming who you are. The moment where there is no going back, pressure as a Huntsmen/Huntress, enemies gathering and a "storm" growing "deadly".

But one verse in particular struck me a curious, out of place, different from the rest. It's the one I marked in a bold text. Now this is all OLD NEWS for most of you who have been here from the start of vol. 1 obviously, but it's news for me.

I have always thought, in the back of my head "What is if the big twist is we are fighting for the wrong Team? Or the wrong reasons at least? Many people have tried to speculate why Cinder is doing what she is doing. Some believed she would be some kind of anti-hero trying to overcome a bigger evil by being evil herself and gathering power. Some people believed Ozpin might be the bad guy in the end, or Ironwood, or someone completely else, an entirely different side.

But this song.... this verse... it's really strange. And the last Episode (Chapter 11 SPOILERS) left me with even more of an impression about something being off. Obviously this could be ALL kinds of things. But the way Cinder chose her words when talking to Ozpin "This whole time, right beneath our feet. She was right about you. Such arrogance". Maybe there is no "right" or "good" side in the end. Maybe this is two sides which have both their downsides and are locked in an eternal struggle. It would certainly be an amazing plot twist if Ozpin and/or some of his partners, his "inner circle" would be not as "good" as they seemed to be up until now.

"Were we born to fight and die? Sacrificed for one huge lie?" - Now it could be the maiden thing, but again, it doesn't really fit. Sacrificed for a Lie. That sounds like every Huntsmen has been living a lie, was lied to, by the people higher up, by the people knowing more. And the context in which it is used almost seems like that lie is not one of those "good lies" to keep everyone save, but a bad or morally grey lie about the people in power themselves. ("Or are we weapons? Pointed at the enemy, so someone else can claim a victory?")

Now this is COMPLETELY out there. But we might be looking at a potential future reveal/plot twist here. Of course it's possible you all knew that ages ago and back when the song first came out you all talked about it and discussed it in detail. If that is the case then I apologize. I didn't see a thread talking about it. And I would love to hear (or rather read) your input on it.

Now, I have been thinking about RWBY a lot lately, especially the character of Ruby (mainly because I am a little frustrated at her development in the show so far, but also because she is one of my favorite characters), and what faith might await her or what events she will go through on her character journey. I watched several of the RT podcasts and interviews about RWBY over the years, and one think kept being stuck in my mind, a thing that was just recently repeated/mentioned in a video that I saw, which is that what they sometimes do in the show is take the characters and assume that most RWBY fans have background knowledge about the fairy tales the characters are loosely based off. And what they do is they take the story-line and make the viewer guess if the particular characters are now really going to meet the same faith as their inspirations or not.

At the same time a thought that went through me is to look for interpretations. Since a lot of characters are based on certain fairytale or mythology inspirations for a reason, I think the interpretations of said works might be equally important to see where the character might be going or what an underlying theme or story arc of the character could be.

So I made myself more familiar with the different forms and interpretations for Little Red Riding Hood, as well as stories familiar to it. I found some very interesting things that might provoke some thoughts, maybe stir up a discussion or two.

First of all one has to note that there are 2 popular versions of Little Red Riding Hood, mainly being different in their ending. The first and original one has the "Big Bad Wolf" eat the sick grandmother (to whom LRRH is going to bring her medicine) by convincing LRRH to stray off the path and waste time picking flowers and has LRRH herself being eaten later on. The story ends there. The second, later version adds the grandmother and LRRH being saved by a Lumberjack - or in some versions by a Hunter / Huntsman who cuts open the belly of the Wolf and fills the Wolfs belly with stones, for him then to die one way or another (based on which version it is). Those are the 2 main versions (although there are less brutal versions having the Wolf lock the grandmother in the closet and the Wolf not being killed).

Another thing I found is a paragraph mentioning stories with similar themes or events that goes as follows:

" The theme of the ravening wolf and of the creature released unharmed from its belly is also reflected in the Russian tale Peter and the Wolf, and the other Grimm tale The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids, but its general theme of restoration is at least as old as Jonah and the Wale. The theme also appears in the story of the life of Saint Margaret, where the saint emerges unharmed from the belly of a dragon and in the epic "The Red Path". "

Then there are the different theories about the interpretation of the tale:

1. Natural cycles:

" Folklorists and cultural anthropologists such as P. Saintyves and Edward Burnett Tylor
saw "Little Red Riding Hood" in terms of solar myths and other
naturally occurring cycles. Her red hood could represent the bright sun
which is ultimately swallowed by the terrible night (the wolf), and the
variations in which she is cut out of the wolf's belly represent by it
the dawn. In this interpretation, there is a connection between the wolf of this tale and Sköll, the wolf in Norse myth that will swallow the personified Sun at Ragnarök, or Fenrir.Alternatively, the tale could be about the season of spring, or the month of May, escaping the winter."

2. Rebirth:

" Bruno Bettelheim, in The Uses of Enchantment, recast the Little Red Riding Hood motif in terms of classic Freudian
analysis, that shows how fairy tales educate, support, and liberate the
emotions of children. The motif of the huntsman cutting open the wolf,
he interpreted as a "rebirth"; the girl who foolishly listened to the
wolf has been reborn as a new person."

Just some interesting facts that I found very thought-provoking when thinking about Ruby's inspiration and where she might go in the future of the series, and maybe how to interpret her character later on in the show when we have seen more development from her.

Hey guys, so I have been watching some old Episodes of late. And when I watched the Yang vs Neo fight scene in Ch. 11 vol. 2 again I stumbled upon something strange. When Yang is knocked down and Raven comes in to save her you see Neo back off and look concerned.

In that scene, when you get to see the close up of Neos face you can see her eye color switch from her standard pink-brown to silver (both eyes). Now I know she can change her eye color (brown, pink and green is what I have seen so far). But why silver? It seemed SO strange to me. I know this might sound ridiculous, but the thing that came into my mind first was Ozpins comment about Ruby's silver eyes in Ch. 1 of vol. 1.

Idk. Could be a coincidence, or have other reasons. I just wondered if any of you have some input or theories about that, or if any of you have even noticed it and also found it strange....

Her speech must have been the best speech in the entire series so far. Seriously, when the background music subtly started to play and the Grim started to run towards Veil, when her voice sounded from the Colosseum speakers......... I knew it has started. And I got chills down my spine.

Hey guys, what's going on? So I have to vent here a little......I really love RWBY. I
really love the new tone they are going for, I like the presentation of a
little bit more mature story while still keeping in SOME of the
lighthearted humor from the previous volumes (Nora and Ren) which is a
really hard thing to do. But I'm kind of really pissed of at the
moment at the way Rooster Teeth handles Ruby. And I'm really sorry, but those feelings were building up inside of me and I have to let them out eventually. So prepare yourselves. (That being said I'm still trying to be relatively civil)

Now I don't know
if Monty planned this, and when he did, fine, but I'm still not happy
with it. In fact I'm mad. Not only did Ruby not get any character
development in the last (almost) 2 volumes or so - which is still
something I can accept, since she is a pretty awesome pre-defined
character already and is maybe the most mature character in her
age-category if you look at her motives for being a huntress and her way
to act in serious situations - but they also made her extremely
underpowered. Now one of my theories is that Ruby (episode 6 spoilers)
might be a maiden (unknowingly so, because she is still very young and
has yet to "discover" her powers), having gotten her powers from Summer
when she died. Which would explain why Ruby is so flawed without the
powers (semblance, hand to hand combat, etc). But should that NOT be the
case I will be really mad. Why? Well, Ruby was set to be this badass
character from the start of the series. It was never explicitly
mentioned, but one always got the feeling she had a LOT of potential and
she was already pretty powerful. In fact, in the first volume, whenever
Ruby showed up you knew things were gonna go her way. She was smart,
had a badass weapon, a hyped up (but rarely seen) semblance and all in
all she was the character where one always assumed she was "secretly the
strongest character of the show". Maybe not statistically, but
combining all her traits and abilities.

The first bulls**
moment was the one in volume 2 episode 9 (or 10?) where Ruby was
captured. It was RIDICULOUS for me. Sure, she was tired, she didn't have
her weapon, took a big hit (though as far as we know, especially from
Yang for example and from others, the "protective" aura (shield) level
does not influence the semblance). But she SHOULD have been able to take
out 2 White Fang goons. I mean COME ON, you tell me she can swing an
gigantic, heavy weapon like Crescent Rose around with ease and carry it
this whole time, she can strike deadly attacks with it and use the
momentum perfectly, but when she boxes a normal White Fang underling he
doesn't even flinch? Nah. Then there was the time she actively dragged a
giant bird up a cliff (with the help of Weiss and weapon recoil of
course, but still). Seriously. With her speed, with her hands alone,
yes, even if she was bad at h2h combat. But I let it slip, gave the show
some leeway.

But as soon as she would realize that, wouldn't she
train that exact aspect? Wouldn't she try to become better WITHOUT her
weapon, training with Yang or something like that, especially for the
tournament and stuff?

On top of that, her "speed
semblance". It's a joke if you ask me. In the Red trailer she went nuts
with speed. Sure, she has some weapon recoil, but even a high powered
sniper rifle can't give you that boost. She was damn fast. Then there
was that food fight in season 2. She ANNIHILATED the complete room. She
dragged a giant debris wave behind her. She was SO FAST.

But
what happens when she fights bad guys? When it gets serious? When she's
captured or hunted? Her semblance has short bursts of 50 or 60 meters
and then she "runs at normal speed" like what we just saw in that little
preview clip. It's like they purposefully make her semblance and
everything about her underpowered. It MAKES NO SENSE. Look at what level
EVERYONE else is (Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, Weiss, Yang, Blake, hell even Sun)
and then look where she is. With that amount of power and so many
weaknesses she actually should not even attend beacon. Don't hate on me,
but in my book she is on Jaunes level. Jaune improved a lot between
volume 2 and volume 3. He can fight now. He can strategize, he might
even be less reliant on his weapon than Ruby is on hers. But Ruby? It
almost seems like she is an "assist character", the big planner behind
all the tactics, but nothing else.

I just.... I hate
it that all Ruby is these days is her Weapon Crescent Rose and her
position as the team leader/mastermind. She is basically only DEFINED by
her weapon in terms of combat. That is a pretty big and exploitable
weakness if you ask me. And yes, I would understand if she was just
"mediocre" without her weapon, but the level at which RT SEEM to have
her powered down is ridiculous. Ruby - Crescent Rose = useless. It
almost seems like that. Not even her semblance has any big advantage.
Since volume 2 episode 10 all she was able to do was doing short bursts
of speed.

Now, like I said, if this has all a purpose,
if this is some kind of "we have to maker her underpowered so in the
end she can "surprise the audience" and be very strong suddenly", or "we
have to make her underpowered so when she "discovers her maiden powers"
she will not be the most powerful character in the show" thing, then
okay, I'm gonna accept it, even if it kind of still doesn't make that
much sense. But if it is NOT, then idk, I will be pretty mad, and sad.

Let
me just make this clear, I don't want Ruby to be "the best" or "the
most powerful character of the show", I just want her to be at least on
one level with all the other characters. And all the other characters
have gotten a LOT of development, in terms of power, combat skill and
even personality. Ruby has not. Not at all. At the moment she SEEMS (I
could be totally wrong there, but that is how it LOOKS LIKE) to be one
of the least powerful characters in the show at the moment.

And
if she dies in Ep. 9, or some time afterwards (which is VERY UNLIKELY
if you ask me, but still not COMPLETELY impossible (still, I highly
doubt she will)), then I can only say it was a total waste of a great
character. That character had so much potential at the start of the
show, was so likable, had so far to go, had such a big hype of what
"might become of her", had so much mystery in her backstory and in what
the future might hold for her, and you did NOTHING with her so far
(well, almost nothing). I'm not complaining about the fact that you did
nothing with her up until now alone, as an isolated problem. I am
complaining that you did not do anything with her IF SHE DIES. Would be a
waste of a character. And obviously I am complaining about her power
level (as you can read above).

Let me just end this in
saying again, I really love this show. I love how masterfully they
execute every episode and how the series seems to get better and better.
I love the new tone, I love Cinder, and I love that she might not be
the only villain or the "big bad boss villain" at all. I love the teams.
I love the humor and that they can still fit it in somehow. I love the
powers, the semblances, the weapons. I love almost everything about this
show.

But there are certain things that just make me mad. And that is one of them.

Sorry
for the rent, really. But I had to vent somehow. Do you agree with me?
If you don't agree with me, fair enough. If you think I got it all
wrong, by all means, write a reply and tell me what you think (but a
friendly reply please :D ). Have a good day guys.

About Me

About Me

Not much to say. I love video games and general discussions about game design, especially in the realm of Stealth Games (Splinter Cell, Metal Gear, Deus Ex, Hitman, Dishonored, etc), but also some RPGS (Witcher) and strategy games from time to time (Civilization, Xcom, etc). I'm a fan of various TV shows including crime dramas (NCIS, NCIS:LA, Criminal Minds, Dexter (well, earlier seasons), etc) as well as SciFi (Stargate, Eureka, etc.) and some select sidcoms (HIMYM, Scrubs, etc.).

I'm also a big RWBY fan. My favorite characters are.... (Raven), Ruby, Cinder, Qrow, Nora and Neo (in that order, also according to "Beaconship" - link here). I really love the direction the show is going currently, and I'm a real sucker for mythology inspired stories and good villains. I also love the typical anti-hero role.